Development of the semiautomatic handgun began in the early 1890s following the invention of “smokeless” gun powder. Gun manufacturers in the United States, Austria, Germany, Spain, and other countries explored various designs for auto-loading pistols, including the Salvator Dormus Laumann model 1892, the Mauser model 1896, the Fabrique Nationale model 1899, and the Luger model 1899/1900. One semiautomatic handgun enduring for more than one hundred years is the model M-1911 designed by John Browning and originally produced by Colt. The M-1911 uses a short recoil operating principle that forms the basis for nearly all modern centerfire pistols. Features of modern semiautomatic pistols include a grip module with a handgrip portion that houses a detachable box magazine. A slide is displaceable along the top of the grip module. The action can be cycled using a blowback, delayed blowback, or blocked breech system, depending on the caliber of the handgun. In any case, discharging the handgun causes the slide to move rearward against spring forces and eject the spent shell casing, followed by the slide returning forward while chambering another round. With the slide in battery, the handgun is cocked, the chamber is locked, and the handgun is ready to fire.
Traditionally, semiautomatic handguns have included a metal frame to which additional components are attached, such as the fire control group, barrel, slide, safety levers, grip panels, and other parts of the handgun. Some metal-framed semiautomatic handguns include a hammer and firing pin with double action, single action, or a combination of double and single action. More recently, handguns have been introduced that have a polymer grip module with a hand grip, trigger guard, and distal portion that extends along the barrel and slide. A separate metal frame is installed into a well that is defined between opposite sidewalls the grip module and includes components of the fire control group. Some such handguns are striker-fired, where the action includes a striker held in spring tension until released forward to impact the ammunition primer by pulling the trigger.